Why is engine light on?
Q: I have a Chevy and it has 154,550 miles. We bought a keyed gas cap because we thought that we could protect our car from having the gas stolen. All of a sudden, the engine light went on. I went to an Auto Zone store and they did a Fix Finder report. It showed we had an EVAP, Emission Control System Leak detected. I figured it was the new gas cap, which was not easy to put on. Decided to put the old one back, thinking maybe the threads were compromised. Turned the engine light off, per instructions. Went back to Auto Zone and still getting the same diagnosis. They told me to inspect the fuel cap gasket. How worried should I be?
— C.O., Skokie, Illinois A: The error code that the Auto Zone folks got is most often a bad fuel cap or its gasket. Your first concern is that your car will not pass its next emissions inspection. Although the car will run fine, it is polluting the air. But the cap is not the only source of problems. There is a charcoal canister designed to temporarily hold vapors and then there are various vapor lines, solenoids and other stuff.
Since a new fuel cap didn’t solve the problem, you will need a professional technician to examine the system with a computerized scan tool to isolate the culprit.
Q: Since Car Talk is no longer with us you have been my main source of auto advice. I’ve had a car in my life since the early 1960s (a Pontiac Catalina) and have witnessed many changes since then. One of them seems to be how the glass on the windows now has the property of rain beading on their surface instead of running down and off. My rear window is completely covered with water during a rainstorm and it is impossible to see what is behind me. Am I imaging this or are they treated differently than they were back then? — J.M., Illinois A: I am not aware of factory rain repelling coatings on the car glass. You didn’t say what car you are driving, but if it is a boxy vehicle, eddy currents in the airflow could be creating a dead area or vacuum area in the back. I miss Click and Clack, too.
Q: I check the oil level regularly on my 2014 Kia Soul Plus. I have it serviced regularly at the dealership and in the eight years that we have owned it, it has 40,290 miles on it. I have the oil changed twice a year to be on the safe side, since I average only 5,000 miles per year. I check the level myself between changes. When I checked it this time, it showed the oil on the dipstick to be halfway between the two marks. I went into the dealership to check if this was OK. The service adviser told me this is right where it should be. I went online to get an answer, and one site said “in the middle” between the two marks, and another site said, nearer the top mark. Who is right? — B.P., Las Vegas A: If you look closely at the two marks, the upper mark indicates full and lower mark indicates the need for a quart of oil to be added. Many dipsticks have this engraved onto the stick. In between is the safe operating area. You can forget the twice-a-year oil changes. Once a year is plenty.
Bob Weber is a writer and mechanic who became an ASE-certified Master Automobile Technician in 1976. He maintains this status by seeking certification every five years. Weber’s work appears in professional trade magazines and other consumer publications.
His writing also appears in automotive trade publications, Consumer Guide and Consumers Digest. Send questions along with name and town to motormouth. tribune@gmail.com.